Tomorrow, I start making calls and working the network. I’ve already got one appointment set up for next week, and a couple of networking events. No time like the present to get started.

I was thinking today about my dad. He was about my age when The Carl Furst Company finally folded up for good. In the small town of Bedford, Indiana, he never really recovered. He had other jobs after that, but nothing that you’d call a career. Towards the end, he bought a Century 21 franchise, and he and mom sold houses in a town of 15 thousand people. Dad enjoyed selling real estate, but I don’t know how many houses he sold. Mom never did like it very much.

The good news is, while I’m a lot like my dad, I have a couple of advantages. Jacksonville’s considerably bigger than Bedford, and there should be a lot more opportunities here than there. I also think I’m somewhat more motivated than he was. I have a mortgage, a car payment, debt to service, and other responsibilities.

I can’t dwell too much on my dad’s experience from my youth. Everyone says I’m going to come out of this better than I was. I’m starting to believe it, so I hope they’re right.